By Ngosa Chalwe.
DEAL TO SIGN HAUPTLE ALMOST CRUSHED IN IT’S INFANCY DUE TO SOCIAL MEDIA – KAMANGA.
FOOTBALL House has revealed that it almost lost the opportunity to appoint Nora Hauptle as Copper Queens coach after information about the negotiations leaked on social media.
Hauptle’s appointment to replace Bruce Mwape at the helm of the Copper Queens was one of the worst kept secrets, with information having leaked when negotiations were still underway.
Hauptle, who has never hidden her desire to coach the Copper Queens, turned down a contract extension with Ghana in preference to taking up a deal with Zambia.
However, the reported US$7000 per month deal was on the verge of collapse as word of her being appointed broke prematurely.
In his weekly column, FAZ president Andrew Kamanga revealed that the deal with Hauptle was on the brink ofcollapse.
“It took a while to get her to sign up for the Copper Queens with the deal almost crashed in its infancy by the perils of social media. We are happy that all the parties involved conducted themselves with the utmost levels of professionalism despite the media frenzy that threatened to scupper the deal,” Kamanga
wrote.
Meanwhile, Kamanga revealed that FAZ had set high targets for Hauptle, who brought an end to Bruce Mwape’s seven-year stewardship of the women’s national team.
While he did not mention it expressly, Hauptle’s targets are reaching the Women Africa Cup of Nations final (WAfCON) and probably winning the title.
The 2026 WAfCON will be Zambia’s fifth appearance and having reached the semifinals in the previous edition, the expectation this time around is that the team should reach the final.
“We have given Hauptle clear targets starting with the forthcoming Women Africa Cup
of Nations that is very high on our radar. We can only wish her the best in her assignment and assure her of maximum support,” wrote Kamanga.
CIC PRESS TEAM
DEAL TO SIGN NORA HAUPTLE ALMOST CRUSHED IN IT’S INFANCY DUE TO SOCIAL MEDIA – KAMANGA
